Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has now shut down one controversy that reportedly occurred during Ineos’ reign at Old Trafford.
The 72-year-old billionaire secured a minority stake in Manchester United in 2023, which was ratified by the Football Association (FA) and the Premier League in 2024
As part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s acquisition of United, Ineos took control of football operations at Old Trafford and have made sweeping changes behind the scenes.
Ineos have installed a new football hierarchy at the Red Devils and Ratcliffe has overseen a series of cost-cutting measures at United since their partial takeover.
Ratcliffe has been met with scathing criticism over his decisions at United, including raising the matchday ticket prices for Red Devils matches in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Ineos chief has also claimed that he is trying to return United’s financial stability and made key decisions that include axing staff meals and making redundancies.
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Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Sir Jim Ratcliffe asked about Man Utd incident at Carrington
Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe visited Carrington after his Manchester United purchase and the billionaire received a tour of the women’s facilities at the training complex.
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According to The Daily Telegraph in February, Ratcliffe crossed paths with former Manchester United Women captain Katie Zelem during his time at Carrington.
But the newspaper claimed that Ratcliffe ‘asked’ Katie Zelem, who left Old Trafford last summer, ‘what she did at the club,’ despite her status as captain at the time.
Ratcliffe was asked about the incident and the United co-owner denied that he asked the Angel City and England Women star the aforementioned question.
The Ineos boss instead claimed that he did ask Maya Le Tissier, who is now United Women captain, if she was related to Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier.
When asked if the Zelem controversy occurred the way it was reported, Ratcliffe told BBC Sport: “No, not really.
“I did ask Maya if she was related to Matt [le Tissier] but the answer was no.”
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe makes his stance clear on Man Utd Women vs Man Utd’s men
Ineos have been met with criticism over their handling of the women’s since their arrival, with Ratcliffe now asked about the decisions made against the team.
The Guardian reported last June that United Women would be moved into portable buildings at the Carrington training complex for the 2024-25 campaign.
According to the newspaper, the decision was to let the men’s team use the women’s building as their indoor facilities were undergoing a revamp at Carrington.
Ratcliffe denied that the women’s and men’s teams are being treated differently and spoke about the business fundamentals that the men’s team brings in for the club.
“It’s a bit unfair [treating the teams differently],” he said.
“What I said at the beginning was my main focus is on the men’s team because that, at the end of the day, is what moves the needle at Manchester United.
“The women’s team is much smaller than the men’s team. Of our £650m of income, £640m of that comes from the men’s team and £10m comes from the women’s team.”
United will now be back in action on Thursday night in the Europa League for their second-leg last-16 tie against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford.